Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Is This Fun Enough For You?
###Chapter 36: Is This Fun Enough For You?
At that moment, from a private room with a half-open door at the end of a hallway in The Grandeur Hotel, came the sounds of people being pressured to drink, sycophantic laughter, and a woman’s tearful voice.
"Drink! If you won’t even give me this little bit of face, then I’ll assume The Sterlings have no sincerity in this partnership!" Mr. Chandler slammed his glass on the table, splashing liquor everywhere. He deliberately squeezed his obese body toward the pale-faced Lucy Coleman.
Backed into a corner, Lucy Coleman’s stomach churned. She pleaded with a sob, "Mr. Chandler... I really can’t. Any more and I’ll end up in the hospital..."
"What’s there to be afraid of? The worst that can happen is I call an ambulance for you!"
Benjamin Sterling snatched the bottle and shoved it right in front of Lucy Coleman, his tone chillingly cold. "Lucy, I heard someone in your family is sick, and you’re in dire need of money. And Mona, you think about next month’s mortgage payment! If Mr. Chandler doesn’t have a good time tonight, the three of you don’t have to bother coming to work tomorrow!"
Mona Langdon was already so drunk she could barely stand, but under Benjamin Sterling’s vicious glare, she had no choice but to shakily pick up her glass.
Just then, Serena Adler, who was returning from the restroom, clearly overheard Benjamin Sterling whispering to Mr. Chandler, "I’ve already booked the presidential suite upstairs. I’ll make sure the three of them keep you good company tonight. Don’t worry, they know how to behave. They won’t say a word..."
Serena Adler felt as if she had been plunged into an icy cavern. This was no longer just about entertaining a client with drinks—it was a blatant transaction of power for sex!
She hid behind a decorative potted plant in the hallway, her fingers trembling so hard she could barely hold her phone. An immense fear suffocated her.
She scrolled through her contacts again and again. ’Who else can I call? None of my colleagues would dare to cross President Sterling...’
Finally, a cool and powerful figure flashed through her mind.
Director Rhodes!
’She’s the only one who isn’t afraid of President Sterling!’
The moment the call connected, Serena Adler’s tears burst forth.
Clinging to her last shred of hope, her voice broke with fear and desperation. "D-Director Rhodes, I’m so sorry to bother you... President Sterling brought us out to entertain Mr. Chandler, and he’s been forcing us to drink. Now he’s... he’s saying we have to sleep with him tonight... We really don’t know what to do..."
Her knuckles turned white from how tightly she was gripping her phone. freeweɓnøvel.com
After all, the company had thousands of employees. She and Director Rhodes weren’t even in the same department and had never exchanged a single word.
’Will she think I’m talking nonsense for calling her so brazenly? Will she brush it off, saying it’s not under her jurisdiction? Or will she just not want to get involved in this mess?’
Just as her mind was racing with these thoughts, Maxine Rhodes’s calm voice came through the phone. "Don’t cry. Send me the address. I’m on my way."
Meanwhile, Ethan Hawthorne and Noah Sutton had just finished their own meeting and were walking down the hallway toward the elevators.
"It’s this early and we’re already leaving?" Noah Sutton complained, not yet satisfied, as he lazily loosened his tie. "I’ve never seen you get tired even after drinking all night. And now? You’re sending me off with a simple ’someone’s waiting at home’?"
He was about to tease him further when a harsh commotion erupted from the end of the hall.
Both men stopped in their tracks. Through the crack of the ajar door, they could clearly see the chaotic scene inside, with cups and plates in disarray.
Erza Sinclair stepped forward at the right moment and reported in a low voice, "Mr. Hawthorne, it’s Benjamin Sterling of The Sterlings and Mr. Chandler of Zenith. They’re entertaining with three female employees."
Noah Sutton followed Ethan Hawthorne’s gaze, and the lazy charm in his eyes instantly turned to a cold frost. "That old lecher Dexter Chandler... a dog will always return to his vomit."
He rolled up his cuffs, revealing his firm forearms. "I, Noah Sutton, have to do something about this."
Just as he was about to step forward, a graceful figure moved faster. Carrying a chilling aura, she swept past like a gust of wind, the hem of her black trench coat carving a sharp arc through the air. In the blink of an eye, she had stormed straight into the private room.
"Whoa!" Noah Sutton’s eyes lit up as he blurted out his praise. "What cool moves! That girl who just went in is simply..."
Before he could finish, Erza Sinclair quietly interjected, "Young Master Sutton, the woman who just went in is Mrs. Hawthorne."
"Mrs. Hawthorne?!" Noah Sutton whipped his head around to look at Ethan Hawthorne and sucked in a sharp breath. The rest of his sentence died in his throat. ’Thank God Erza said something,’ he thought, ’otherwise...’
He immediately nudged Ethan Hawthorne with his elbow, his tone shifting abruptly. "A hero saving the damsel in distress. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The stage is all yours."
The pressure around Ethan Hawthorne had already dropped several degrees, but his eyes remained locked on the private room.
"She wouldn’t want me to interfere," he said in a low voice, filled with understanding and respect for her. "This is her battlefield."
Noah Sutton raised an eyebrow. "So we’re just going to stand here and watch?"
"She doesn’t do things she isn’t sure of," Ethan Hawthorne said calmly, even as he pushed open the door to an empty room across the hall. "But I have to make sure nothing goes wrong."
The three of them entered the room, leaving the door ajar, which gave them a perfect view of everything happening across the way.
Maxine Rhodes, dressed in a black trench coat, strode in with a commanding presence, breaking into the den of depravity.
The door of the room slammed violently against the wall with a dull THUD. Her eyes swept across the scene, landing on Dexter Chandler’s greasy hand as it reached maliciously for Mona Langdon’s rear.
"Mr. Chandler."
The single name, spoken as coldly as ice pearls dropping onto a jade plate, froze Dexter Chandler’s hand in midair.
The next second, Maxine Rhodes was in front of him. She reached out, precisely grabbing Dexter Chandler’s wrist and wrenching it back.
"AGHH—!" A scream like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the room.
She took the opportunity to pull the terrified Mona Langdon behind her. The three female colleagues instantly found their pillar of support and scrambled to hide behind her as well.
Maxine Rhodes flung Mr. Chandler’s hand away and casually picked up a clean napkin from the table, methodically wiping each of her fingers.
After wiping her hands, she sat down with an air of composure, the hem of her black trench coat sweeping a clean arc through the air.
Maxine Rhodes looked up, her gaze as sharp as tempered ice, and fixed it on Dexter Chandler, who was rubbing his wrist. "It seems Mr. Chandler really enjoys drinking with people?"
Benjamin Sterling finally snapped out of his shock and shot to his feet. "Maxine Rhodes! Are you insane?! Apologize to Mr. Chandler right now!"
Maxine Rhodes didn’t even bother to spare him a glance. Her eyes remained fixed on the pale-faced Dexter Chandler as she picked up the expensive bottle of foreign liquor, her red lips parting slightly. "How about I drink with you instead?"
Mr. Chandler was momentarily stunned by her sudden burst of dominance. He had been furious, but then he got a clear look at her—a great beauty with a striking face and an extraordinary aura. His expression immediately shifted to one of intense interest. "Alright! If a beauty like you wants to drink, then I, Chandler, will accompany you to the very end!"
Maxine Rhodes took a step forward. With a swift tilt of her wrist—SPLASH!—the amber liquid poured out, drenching Dexter Chandler from head to toe. The pungent smell of alcohol instantly filled the air.
"So? Is this fun enough for you?"